Chicagoland MYAFIBSTORY.com 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick is a good fantasy NASCAR pick for the Chicagoland MyAFibStory.com 400. Throughout his career Chicagoland has been an intermediate track where he has a knack at performing well. He has a 9.9 average result and in the first two times the series raced here he had back to back wins. Also in his career at Chicagoland his top five finish percentage is 54% percent and his top ten finish percentage is 62% percent. He’s also been a fairly safe pick and has only once finished outside the top twenty. Last season Kevin Harvick had a strong performance. He started in 17th and in the second half of the event he typically ran 8th or better. When the checkered flag waved he finished 3rd and earned the 7th best driver rating. In 2012 at Chicagoland he had an OK race. He started back in 35th, had a 17th place average running position and finished 12th. In 2011 he finished runner-up. This season on 1.5 mile tracks Harvick has been one of the strongest drivers in the series. In 4 of the 6 races at these venues a solid case could be made he arguably had the best car. Atlanta is the last 1.5 mile track visited and at that venue he thumped the field and led 195 laps from the pole. (Yahoo A Driver)

[box border=”full”]Take the ifantasyrace.com Chase Challenge and win $100[/box]

Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson will be tough to beat in the Chicagoland MyAFibStory.com 400. It’s Chase time and that equates out to Jimmie Johnson showing his hand and leaving the competition in the dust. In his career at Chicagoland he’s been a very strong performer and the only thing eluding him is a win. What’s somewhat funny about that fact is that his only Nationwide Series win came at this venue in 2001. When you look at Jimmie Johnson’s stats it’s amazing he hasn’t won here in a Sprint Cup car because he’s been such a stout performer. Only twice in his career has he finished outside the top ten and minus those races he has a 4.5 average finish. Another aspect about him that needs to be noted is that he’s been great at leading laps here. In 11 of his 12 starts he’s paced the field. Currently he’s led laps in the last 7 straight races and over that stretch he’s averaged leading 71 laps per race. In 2013 at Chicagoland Jimmie Johnson had a very good car that could’ve potentially been the strongest in the field. Unfortunately his race wasn’t incident free because he had multiple problems on pit road. In the race he started in 9th and raced his way up to the lead on lap 34. Then later in the race while he was leading during green flag stops around lap 75 he had about a 20 second pit stop because of confusion with a NASCAR official whether he had all of his lug nuts on or not. That long pit stopped dropped him down to about 6th. He was able to rebound from that and over the next 70 laps he typically ran between 6th and 2nd. Then later in the race on lap 149 during pit stops his jack broke and that cost him about 20 positions. From that point on he had to do some serious rallying up through the field. When the checkered flag waved he finished 5th, had a 7th place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating and led 40 laps. In 2012 Johnson was very impressive. In that race he started on the pole, earned the best driver rating, finished 2nd, had a 2nd place average running position and led 172 laps. He nearly had the race won but during the last round of pit stops Keselowski passed him and then hit the afterburners. If Johnson would’ve maintained the lead through that pit cycle I think he would’ve won. In 2011 his 10th place finish deserves an asterisk mark. In that race he was a driver who ran out of gas on the final lap. Before he ran out of gas he was running in 3rd. This season on 1.5 mile tracks Johnson has been strong. In the five select races on tracks of this length minus Texas where he had problems early he’s scored the most points in the series, has finished in the top ten every race and has a 6.0 average finish. I consider Chicagoland a mini Auto Club Speedway and at that venue in March he was a lock to win until his late flat. (Yahoo A Driver)

Finish The Fight and read all of our exclusive MEMBERS ONLY content through Homestead. JOIN NOW!

Recommended Reading – Front Runner Rankings, Mid Pack Predictions, Yahoo C List Preview, Who will win the Chicagoland MyAFibStory.com, Expert Chase Challenge Brackets

Brad Keselowski – This season on 1.5 mile tracks Brad Keselowski has been one of the strongest performers in the series. In the six combined races on 1.5 mile tracks he’s the only driver with multiple victories, has the best driver rating, second best average running position (6.0), and has led the second most laps (396). When I say he’s been one of the strongest performers that doesn’t always mean he’s finished the best because he’s only had a result in the top ten half the time. One notable strength for him on this track type is his qualifying prowess. On 1.5 mile tracks he has a 2.0 average starting position and hasn’t started worse than 3rd all season long. Keselowski has performed well at Chicagoland. Over the last three races he has the 2nd best driver rating, a 4.3 average finish, and a 7.7 average running position. Last season Keselowski had a solid race. He started 2nd, earned the 5th best driver rating and finished 7th. In 2012 Brad Keselowski had a great car and went to victory lane. For much of the race he stalked Jimmie Johnson but at the end when it was time to go he hit the afterburners and drove away from the #48. In that race he started 13th, led 76 laps, had a third place average running position and earned the second best driver rating. In 2011 at Chicagoland he finished 5th. Yahoo B Driver)

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Chicagoland MyAFibStory.com Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > Yahoo C List Preview